sábado, 31 de octubre de 2015

Morning recovery run

Today was up at 5:45 a.m. and I was out with my father at 6:35 a.m. or so to the conservatory, once there We did different routes as most of the time. I did the same old route of this week once again, but this time I was running very easy, when I was increasing pace/effort, I would dial back since I am in recovery mode from yesterday`s workout, that workout look very easy on paper, but I remember the last time I did it, I felt like crap for more than a week after that, so today I itentionally wanted to run very easy.

When I finished the 3 laps there corner to corner, my father had 1 more lap to go ( around 7 more mins), so I had to run back and forth to wait for him, then We got out the conservatory together and I pushed the last 200s, because He was closing strong, and my competitive juice took place in the last 200s, I should not have done that, because I  am in recovery mode, but sometimes you cant help it.

Weather was good at the beginning, but was starting to heat up at the end!!

Total time of running was 54:27, so around 9k, probably a little less!

I was wearing a watch, but did not look at it, just look at it post run and the splits were 8:00 to get to the conservatory, then 3 laps corner to corner in 10:27,10:10,9:59, ran back and forth waiting for my father 8:44, then from the conservatory to home in 6:30 (1.2k or so).

Good day of running, and I am feeling that my fitness is improving little by little!!

Have a great Saturday!

viernes, 30 de octubre de 2015

Morning mini intervals

Yesterday I slept in to be honest , felt guilty for part of the day, but then decided that it was going to be my rest day. So today I was up at 5:45 a.m., but headed out at 6:45 a.m. to the conservatory to do the same old route as the whole week, the only difference is that since Wednesday I had planned to do some intervals, at least 5 x 1 min fast, 1 min slow to start the anaerobic stuff!!

I did not look at the watch today except when I was doing the 5 x 1 min, I did 1 plus lap corner to corner ( about 20 mins into the run), then the fun started, the first one I think that I did it too fast since I was huffing and puffing right away, to sum things up, I was huffing and puffing even on the recovery min, and on 2 occassions I had to take more than 1 min, because I was still very tired from the " on" part. Splits were 7:39 to get to the conservatory, 3 laps corner to corner in 10:00,8:49 ( this included pretty much the whole workout),9:57, ran 1:30 inside the park before getting out to do 7:13 from the conservatory to home running very easy.

When I finished the 5 x 1 min, I thought about stopping to catch my breath before the cooldown, but toughed it out because in the race you dont have recovery, and I started jogging the cooldown( most part of the 3rd lap and back home) huffing and puffing, I was making a lot of noise, some people stared at me in an akward manner!

Anyway, I was happy to have gotten this one in, its an easy workout (in terms of duration), and I want to increase that to 10 repeats in the upcoming weeks, I am very unfit anaerobically, because the breathing was out of control for most of the 5 x 1 min on and off, and also because one year ago ( I checked my blog from October, November last year) I was running almost 2 min faster in a 5k race ( Christmas 5k on December), eventhough I was training at the same pace, even slower sometimes.

Around 7.5k total or more in 45:24.

 Happy to have gotten this one in, I want to run a double digit ( in kms) this weekend, its time to get down those racing times. I have also realized that in the morning I am more motivated to do workouts, the last time I did a workout was on June I think, and it was the same as today.

Have a great Friday everyone!

miércoles, 28 de octubre de 2015

Good morning run

This morning was up at 5:45 a.m. but stayed in bed past 6 a.m. and did not get out the door till 7 a.m., yesterday I went to bed past 11 p.m. I was sleepy, but as soon as I put myself into bed I could not sleep and pass a while before I fell asleep, on top of that, I woke up several times past midnight, but when the alarm went off, I was asleep, anyway, I did a commitment with myself, and I ll run early in the morning, maybe I need to run harder so that I can fall asleep as soon as I touch the bed!

This morning was out at 7:00 a.m. wanted to start out earlier, but somethings got in the way, anyway, I got to the conservatory and did the same thing as the past two days, but this time I did not look at the watch but pressed the split button in the 3 laps corner to corner, when I entered the conservatory and when I went out the conservatory.

I only looked splits post run when I was drinking water, but I knew that today would be faster than the previous 2 days, because in the last lap I incorporated 4 x 100s (or so) strides at a good clip.

Felt good, a bit tired in the second half, but in the 3rd lap when I changed gears a bit I felt much better again.

Splits were :7:30 to get to the conservatory, 3 laps corner to corner in 9:56,9:42,9:19 and 6:32 from the conservatory to home because I sped up a bit in the last 500s. That last lap really surprised, but strides must have helped!

Total time was 44:40 what I think is 7.5k or even more, so 1 more min faster than yesterday, but dont think about that I am decreasing a min each day, in fact, I think that although I did not look at the watch, I was racing it subconciously, so sometimes I ll have to leave it at home (I was doing that several a weeks ago, what happened?).

Glad to have run first thing in the morning! Have a great Wednesday!

martes, 27 de octubre de 2015

Another morning run

Yesterday I went early to bed, at 10:50 p.m. which is early for me, but if I want to keep this morning running going, I have to go to bed early enough, so that I can get 6-7 hours of sleep.

Today I woke up  at 5:45 a.m. but it was very dark yet, so I waited a more bit, and at 6:45 a.m. I headed  out the door with the weather pretty good. It seems that a storm is coming so probably this evening will rain hard such as yesterday, it was wet this morning when I had to jump some little paddles.

I headed out to the conservatory  in 7:36, faster than yesterday, then did 3 laps such as yesterday from corner to corner, laps today were 9:59,9:46,9:45, ran 1 min before leaving the conservatory and headed home to finish in 45:35, so basically 1 min faster than yesterday at the same effort. I am looking at the watch because I dont know the pace, dont know the distance between corners, but I do better cut the habit of looking at the watch, because it can turn into a race of between the day before`s splits, a big no no!! Tomorrow I just click the split button, and check splits post run!

I felt really good today, but at the beginning I was having some stomach problems which I think it was going to give me even more problems, but then it went away and I could go on running without much problem.

All in all, liking these morning runs, I already ran and its only 8 a.m., but when the majority of your running is after 6 p.m. this feels like an accomplishment. The weather was great once again!!

So I would say 7.5k in 45:35

lunes, 26 de octubre de 2015

Catching up and zapping the zero early in the morning

I did not run for the entire weekend, no excuses, I just did not run in the morning on Saturday and in the evening I was not around, I was hanging out with my brother and father. On Sunday I was going to run in the evening, but I was feeling lazy then, and decided to do it early in the morning of Monday, and that is basically what I did.

4 runs the past week.

I woke up before 6:30 a.m. I put the alarm at 5:45 a.m., but when I saw that it was lighting out I checked the watch and it was 6:24 a.m., I misset( I dont know if its a word) the alarm, put it PM instead of AM. I was sleepy, but I was feeling really guilty because I did not run for the entire weekend, but I also ate like a pig.

I went out just before 7 a.m., with a very good temperature and went to the conservatory in 7:51, if you check in this time of year for the last couple of years in my blog, I say that the conservatory is closed in some areas, but luckily I have my own route for that , that is corner to corner, both sides, a bigger lap, and the time passes more quickly.

I took 3 laps and it were 10:16,9:55,9:54, the pace was easy, but the weather made the run a great one, and I could run forever today, from now I decide to become a morning runner, no excuses if I want to get back close to where I was years ago. I have to stop trotting along in the evening for years on end, and start planning some good quality workouts and put in longer runs, as the weather is much better in the morning, the effort that you can put in is optimal and greater, thus racing faster? sounds good!

After those 3 laps I ran 1 more min inside of the park and headed home to finish in a total of 46:32, which I think was 7.5k, probably did a bit more but lets leave it at that.

I ll run in the morning and will become a morning runner!!

Have a great start of the week! and run when you can and when your schedule permits, at the end of the day, the most important thing is to get the run in, no matter the time of day!

viernes, 23 de octubre de 2015

Evening running

Today when it was running time, I was feeling a bit lazy, but at 6:30 p.m. I forced myself to go out, no reason to skip the run, so I headed out and the weather was great, a cool breeze and it poured a bit during the run.

I went out to the conservatory in 7:42, then did 5 laps in 6:03,5:20,5:33,5:34,5:32, then headed back home in 6:48 for 7.5k in 43:05. The weather was great and that was the reason I felt so great I think. That race opened my lungs because after the race, I am running faster on easy days, feeling a lot better.

Another thing is that I did not look at the watch during the run, I looked at it after the run when I was drinking my water.

From the get  go I felt very rested after yesterday recovery run and went with the flow, Jose joined me for the first 2 laps, but as it started pouring, He sped up so his cellphone does not get wet, that was the main reason I pushed more than necessary in the second lap, after that He called it a day and I continued for 25+ mins.

7.5k in 43:05.

Have a great Friday!

jueves, 22 de octubre de 2015

True recovery run

To be honest today I did not plan a morning run, but my father and myself were force to get out the door after 8:30 a.m. because I received a message of a friend telling me that her brother died in an accident yesterday, that was a very bad message. With all honestly after that message, running did not cross my mind one bit, and then after a while of processing the message, my father invited me to run because in the afternoon evening We would not get a chance to do so!! I accepted, but today`s run was pretty much to be greatful for life and to pray a bit for Argenis.

I hope that He is doing fine wherever He is right now, my big condolences to the family!!

As for the run, I just left the watch at home and ran easy to the conservatory, 5 laps and back  for a total of 7.5k. Felt a bit tired but good.

7.5k total watchless!


Have a great day and enjoy every day to its fullest!!

miércoles, 21 de octubre de 2015

Easy progressive run

No morning run, it seems that I ll just run whenever I can and as I am not working at the moment, I do have a lot of times in my hands, so as long as you are running no matter the time.

Today I ran with my friend Juan in the evening at 7 p.m. at that time is already very dark in this season of the year,We started off pretty easy to the conservatory and got there in 8:38, much faster than last time We ran together indeed.

Then I was going to do 6 laps there, and He was going to do whatever laps He could muster, He told me that He was having a side stitch well before We completed the first lap in 7:03, the second lap We slowed some and did 7:14, then He slowed some more, but He was struggling some, so I decided to go ahead and run at my normal pace, after all, in the conservatory you always keep in touch due to the 1k length of the park.

3rd lap came in 6:35, then speeded up some more and the 3 remaining laps were in 6:03,5:46 and the last one I pushed it a bit,but not too much in 5:14. Then ran some more at the same pace to complete the 7.5k. It seems that I am getting better, because that 5:14 felt easier than in past weeks.

I passed Juan when I ran that 5:14, so I lapped him I guess, no worries, I told him that He should be more consistent, because the last time He ran was when  We ran 2 weeks ago.

I did around 7.5k in 48mins or so, felt really good, but heck the heat was strong out there!!

Have a great Humpday!

martes, 20 de octubre de 2015

Zapping the zero

Yesterday I took the day off. I did not run in the morning, but was going to run in the evening, but when the evening came I was hungry and skip the run. So I guess that that is going to be my rest day for the week.

Today I ran in the college that my brother and I studied that is located in front of my house, they have a kind of track inside a baseball field. They say that the dirt track is accurate. Several events are held in that same dirty track and my brother has done several intervals there, and I think that its pretty much accurate.

I had not been there except cheering when my brother is doing a workout, today is the first time that I run in there. I thought that is going to be difficult because if the conservatory is monotonous due to the 1k laps there, this is just 400m, but given that this is the first time that I run there, I found it funny!! I would not imagine running there everyday though!!

So We started running at an easy pace and I decided to mark every km (2.5 laps) I started in 6:24 the first km, I was a bit frustrated because felt a lot faster than that, luckily, I got faster later with the same effort, the second km was 6:00 or so, next was 5:39 if my math is not bad, 3k passed in 18:03 after that I decided to push the split button for the 4 remaining kms.

The next 4k came in 5:42,5:41,5:38,5:35, next 200s in 63 seconds and pushed a bit the final lap in 1:49, I tried to sprint the last 100s, but the sprint in my last race was way faster than today`s attempt!!

I did 7.6k in 43:34!! I really liked the pace and now I understand my slow race, probably I went out too fast in the first 400s of the race and was in survival mode after the mile. Today I let the pace came to me and it was confortable, I was huffing and puffing at times, but I could sustain the pace easily and no lactic acid accumulation.

Theorically, today`s pace is my tempo pace, but I found that I just went out easy and pushed just a bit at the end, this is not even close as taxing as a tempo run.

This is a step in the right direction I guess, and I ll continue to train hard, I ll do a several sessions there to improve my LT and Vo2 max.

Another thing is that the terrain there is optimal for training, is a dirty track, but you dont feel the pounding as much, and is ideal to avoid injuries, would be very useful for me as I tend to suffer of Shin splints.

The weather was super hot, I felt like I was in an oven, but felt great by the time I finished. Its good to run in flat routes and not do 50 hills in the conservatory route.

7.6k in 43:34!( yeah, I thought in my house that I would have done 1 more lap to complete the 8k, but then I did not even think about that!

Have a great Tuesday!

domingo, 18 de octubre de 2015

Changing routes

Today I did not run in the morning, but I started running just before 5 p.m. Soon in the run I was huffing and puffing and the heat was awful, luckily I hydrated well during the day and now even more that I am not drinking sodas.

Today I went out to the conservatory only to realize that the walking event of this morning was still there and I could not enter the conservatory, when I realize that, I inmediately changed routes and took another street straight that drags me to another park called " La plaza de la cultura", I had been there when they do the " books events", but I had never been there running, when I took a more flatter route and the sun was setting, I started to feel much better and ran randomly inside the plaza.

I lap there took me around 7:18 is more than a km and I could realize that I can run more often there, because the conservatory is a monotony. There were several straight roads where you can run some short repeats over there.

When I had around 34-35 mins I got out of the park and headed home which took me around 7 mins, I got home exactly in 42 mins, so give or take, a 7k run.

I dont the exact distance, but the change in route helped to feel better given the way I felt starting out!!

4 runs this week, took a couple of more days than necessary, but this upcoming week, I ll try to keep the 6 times per week training going.

Hope you have a great Sunday!!

sábado, 17 de octubre de 2015

Post race lack of motivation

I did not run on Thursday or Friday, I tried to wake up in the morning both days but did not succeed, in the evening I did not have a lot of motivation. That always happens to me the week after a race, and is not necessary a bad thing (if you are not training through it and have a bigger goal of course) but luckily this time it wont drag several weeks since today I was back in the wagon feeling pretty good and motivated to fix my recent race disasters, are not disasters by ifself, because its a true indicator of my actual fitness.

Today at 7:15 a.m. I went out with my father to the conservatory and as lately took all the splits, but only looked at the watch at the end so basically ran blind during the run. I felt really good during the run, the first couple of laps felt long mentally, but then got into a great groove and just cruises. In the last lap I incorporated 4 x 100s strides or so at a good rythm, just to get the turnover moving, felt awesome!

I did 7.5k in 45:59 and my father in 46:40, I got to the conservatory in 7:46 , then 5 laps in 6:27,6:22,6;14,6:00,5:43 (striddes), and back home in 6:53 (around 5:50 per km). The weather was hot, but We have a nice breeze at times.

7.5k total!!

I probably will run with my brother and a friend this evening, I am not sure, but We will see, if not!! then See you tomorrow morning!!

Have a great Saturday!

miércoles, 14 de octubre de 2015

More Rexona 5k photos



Digging deep through the finish line ( I lost to that young guy in the line)

Morning run

Yesterday as I said, I took the day off.

Today I was up at 6:00 a.m. or so, and was out with my father at 6:54 a.m. to the mirador, I did 5 laps there and back home for a total of 7.5k in 46:39. The pace was slow, but given my actual shape thats about it.

From the get go, I felt like a million of bucks, in fact  I dont remember the last time I felt so good and awesome!! I thought that  I was going faster than the actual splits, but anyway it was a very good run and the time passed by very quickly.

I only checked splits when I got home downing my water, the 5 laps were like this: 6:30,6:20,6:16,6:14,6:05. So yeah it was slow, but felt great and as I said , given my 5k race on Sunday, this pace is not so bad.

I ran in the morning because I want to become an early morning runner again( I did for some time), because its clear that in the evening, I am not doing the necesary mileage to improve, plus in the morning I have more energy as today. It reflected today because the 7.5k today morning felt like a breeze and in the evening it sometimes feels looong!!

I think that in the morning I am willing to run longer or harder as opposed to the evening where I just run to decompress, but while running for release stress or to cap off the day on a good note, you have to run a decent mileage and do decent workouts to improve, I am not doing any of those, and besides weight, I think that not getting out of my confort zone, it whats making me slower!!

Plus, when you run in the morning you have the end of the day to do other things.

So any tips to become a morning runner? Why do you run in the morning?


lunes, 12 de octubre de 2015

Recovery run

This evening I went out with Jose to the conservatory. I am very sore, and I ran without a watch, decided to do just 5.5k very easy to clean out some junk.

When I started I could feel my breathing very hard soon in the run, but after a while it got better and better, till feeling pretty good during the run.

The pace was very easy, I think in these runs We got to strive for recovery rather than pace. Mission accomplished.

Tomorrow I ll have the day off, and probably de DOMS will be in full force tomorrow, hope that on Wednesday they are better.

5.5k watchless!

Have a great Monday!

5k rexona photos

      Just before the start.
       I am the bib 135.                                     
      First 200m.                                                                  
       Representing Hillrunner.com
       Digging deep in the last 400m. A lot of weight too lose!                                        

domingo, 11 de octubre de 2015

Rexona 5k race :Personal worst

Today at 5 p.m. I raced the Rexona 5k race. Last week I was going to race a 5k, but it seems that they cancelled since I did not see it in the calendar anymore last week. Luckily, I just watched in the calendar that today was the Rexona 5k, and I decided to run it.

This is a new event and I think that they did a pretty good job, very organized and the logistic was great.

During the day today, I even considered not running the race, I knew deep down that I am not in shape to race, nor my weight of 193 pounds is adequate to run a race also. But I had registered already and I needed to get it done.

As I said yesterday, I was not going to be surprised if I saw 26 mins on the finishing clock, but deep down I wanted to run faster than the 25:10 that I ran in May.

I warmed up around 1 mile, and was feeling pretty good, then We waited for around 10 mins in the starting line before taking off, the horned sounded and I went out at a good pace, harder than I should, but I only realized so in the first 400s when my breathing was at 1000 per hour that early in the race.

I was feeling tired, but strong till the 2k mark, after that the wheels just came off, and I just wanted to run " hard" the first half of the race and in the back half jog easier or do what I could, after turning back in the half I poured myself with water and was very tired already, I just decreased the pace till around 1 mile to go, a guy gave me words of encouragement and I sped up again to stay with him, could not catch him, but I was just around.

In the last 400s my brother was there and like in my last race He ran with me from 400s to go , to the 200s to go mark, I was rolling at a good speed there and did everything I could to not fade so much, I just watched the clock ticking the 25:12, I said to myself, oh my god, I need to really speed up if I want to be sub 26 mins, I just increased effort a bit, but with 80-100s to go, I just looked behind and a young kid was flying sprinting hard just 5-10m behind me, and in that moment I just put myself in sprinting mode too, I just opened my hands and was swinging like a sprinter, the knees were as high as they possibly could, I did not want that kid to pass me in the final stretch, I swong hard up to the point that I almost eat dust because my legs got very weak, but could regain my composure, the guy passed in the finishing line, but I battled the best I could and gave the crowd a very good time to cheer us and encourage us.

I crossed the line in 25:57, but the chip time said 25:53. That is my worst time in the 5k, but eventhough I have been consistent with my running, I am not really training, I am just jogging around for 40-45 mins and thats about it.

For a 5k, you need to train all systems to really muster a great race. Another thing is the weight, how can I race my old pr`s or close to them if then I weighed 140-150 pounds and now I am 193 pounds, no  way!!!  I need to lose weight and I am working on it ditching coke and only drinking on occasion, and I know that it will be a big change and a big benefit!!

All in all, I did not run that bad given my actual fitness, I have only run sub 5 mins in 1k once in the last 6 months, everything else is easy, so not really training, just running easy.

I think the first half was sub 8 min miles or sub 5 mins per km, I dont wear a watch when I race, but when the splits in the results are up, I ll post it!!

Anyways, what really matter is finishing time, not split times. But I think I went out much harder than I should given my actual conditioning!!

The weather was just fine and I got a lot of work to do!!

sábado, 10 de octubre de 2015

Watchless shake out + strides

Today I headed out at 6:00 p.m. with my brother and my friend Alexis. Alexis had years without running, but 4 years ago He was a very good runner whom my brother and I trained. I think He did very good today because He completed the run with us. Besides that, He is at an ideal running weight, if He starts training again He could fly.

I went out without a watch today and just ran easy, at first it was very easy, but in the last 10-15 mins I decided to speed up a bit, because going that slow would not help me tomorrow, in fact, it could be counterproductive and affect my form.

I did 4 laps today and in the last lap incorporated 4 x 100s at a good pace, it was not at my normal strides pace, because that could force me to  go out harder than I should tomorrow. Instead, I just did them at a good controlled pace and eventhough I did them controlled, I huffed and puffed at times, and that was frustrating.

All in all, I completed the 5.5k and I think that I ll be just fine for tomorrow`s Rexona 5k.

My expectations for the race are not that good, because in the last 5-6 months I have only run sub 5 mins in 1k, one time, and that happened to be on Wednesday and it was not too confortable.

Honestly, I wont be surprised if I run 26 something, which is farly slow for me, but given recent efforts it wont be that easy.

We will see if in December I can muster something much better and lose some weight eliminating sugary drinks and sodas.

I have realized that I have trained very consistent this year, but the weight is still there and that is frustrating, I am not eating that much, but it seems that my severe coke addiction is paying off, I hope that eliminating that s$·%$t, I ll be much leaner when December rolls around. Man training 5-6 times per week and not seeing the scale moving in the right direction is frustrating!!

Speaking of, no coke today either!! Just need to cut that habit out of my life!

Have a great Saturday!

viernes, 9 de octubre de 2015

Shaking out

Today I headed out to the conservatory at 6:30 p.m. with my brother. As yesterday, I just pushed the splits but never looked at it after the run.

Today I was very skeptical to speed up when I felt good because I have a 5k race in two days and dont want to do something stupids just to " increase confidence" since fitness cannot be improved in 2 days.

Got there in 8:02, then did 6 laps in 6:21,6:18,6:12,6:10,5:56,5:50. In the last 2 laps I felt awesome and could not help going with the flow a bit.  The pace started pretty slow, but that does not matter just before a race.

Weather was hot and I was soaked after the run!!

No coke today and felt great during the run, I wish today would have been the race, I just felt awesome out there today, its a shame that I had to hold back!!

7.5k in around 46:10.

Have a great Friday!!

jueves, 8 de octubre de 2015

Nice evening run

Today I headed out to the conservatory at 6:25 p.m. and today I wore my watch, but just recorded splits, but only looked at them after the run, so basically the run was entirely by effort.  I felt bloated in the first couple of laps but then loosened up pretty good and finished feeling much better and faster than I started.

The splits were 7:48 to get to the conservatory and then did 6 laps in 6:13,6:06,6:01,6:00,5:52,5:44 and ran some more to complete 45:30 what I could call 7.5k.

The reason of not watching the splits was due to an article that posted my online friend and fellow runner Ryan Hill in his website, about how the watch is useful, but only for post run analysis, you dont gain anything by modifying your paces because you dont like what you see on the watch.

Its better to run by effort like I did today and then check splits or your time after the run, I realized that lately I have been racing even my easy runs and that is a mistake, I ran much faster today than other days where the pressure to get down of 6 mins per lap is huge, but today it just came naturally and just happened when I loossened up.

I have done runs like that in the past (several years ago to be honest), but doing that today I see that its a very effective way to train because you are paying attention to the body and not reacting to the watch.

" Let the watch report, not direct" was the tittle of the article, and I think a lot of people train way harder than they should or race the watch even they should not.

Today I drank soda because I wanted to, but I realized that it bloated me a lot and today i could not understand how I could zip a lot of that, its tasteful, but as soon as I drank my two 16 onzes cup, I felt bloated and that carried for half of the run.

Given that I drank that everyday I could not spot the bloatness (I dont know if that is a word) and thought that it was normal, today I can tell that its not normal and its fairly unconfortable.

I ll still drink coke, but much more less than before, I just need to drink more natural foods and stick to mostly water, that coke is good for an ocassion, maybe 1 time per week, but I can see that the excess of that its causing me to gain a lot of weight and causing that my performances decrease.

Hope you have a great night!

miércoles, 7 de octubre de 2015

Running with a friend

Yesterday I took the day off.

Today I talked with my friend Juan and We arranged to run together so at 6:45 p.m. He came, got dressed and at 6:50 p.m. We headed out to the conservatory at a very easy pace, I wanted to do 6 laps there, He did 5 laps and I think He did an awesome job.

We got to the conservatory in 9:02 and then did 6 laps in 7:07,7:01,6:54,6:50,6:41, and then I just increased my pace for my finishing lap, I mustered a 4:54 last lap, I had around 6 months that did not do sub 5 mins, last week I really tried and only mustered over 5 mins, but this time I was going fast but not over the edge and could do 4:54, then ran some more to complete the 7.5k in around 50:02.

Overall it was a good run, I helped a friend to do his run, especially in the last couple of laps where the going got tough for him given his breathing, He could do a negative split nonetheless.

That was the first time that He ran in the conservatory, but I warned him about the hills and not being the same as the mirador, the conservatory is much harder and the splits just reflected that.

The left shin sometimes gave me problems, but I hope that it does not get worse!!

Have a great Humpday!

martes, 6 de octubre de 2015

Monday run

Yesterday I forgot to post honestly.

Danilo and I got to the conservatory at 6:05 p.m. or so, We got there in 7:33 and I felt like I was working, then Danilo started pushing the pace and built a gap, He was running much better than Sunday. After a lap Jose joined me but after around 400s He sped up to join my brother ahead, They built a gap of 10 seconds on me, but I did not let that gap got bigger, I was feeling confortable, but with a quick turnover.

After 4 laps in the conservatory I called it a day and did a couple of mins more to complete 5.5k for a total of 32:30. The reason that I called it a day was because the pace was not that easy and the splits were way too slow, also  I get pissed off when people dont train as hard as( not even close) me nor as often and they can maintain your rythm without much effort, even pull ahead. To be honest in the last lap, I could pass my brother and my friend, but I was not going to make that a race, if they want to race lets put a number on our chest. I just called it a day and headed home walking from the park.

Laps were 6:00,5:47,5:38,5:45, faster than my everyday pace, but that should be very easy by now. The legs are just heavy and I have to maintain a quick turnover to maintain that pace.

Typing this I wanna run, because Sunday and Monday were both short runs, and the body is asking for more. I ll probably rest today since the left shin is giving signals of inflamation and hurted a bit when I started running yesterday.

I have realized that the conservatory is not a good place to train if you are a runner, yeah! the conservatory has 2 hills on each lap, but I have trained there for years now and I have gotten worse not better and a big reason for that is that in the mirador you could do a lot more quality stuff, thus improving fitness faster and getting more hard efforts. I ll try to incorporate more mirador running, and when I have a car the staple of my training will be tempo runs and speed workouts there in the mirador, that is how you improve, not just jogging 4-6 laps in a park (each lap has 1 kilometer) and mentally seem that you ran 2 hours because of the monotony. In the Mirador you run 8k and its a breeze, this is an aerobic sport so the more mileage the better( up to a point of course), so no matter if each lap of the conservatory has 2 hills, you can get enough quality or enough long running there to really improve further.

Another thing is that since I am only drinking water for the most part for the last week, I dont fee bloated after or during runs and I feel like I could speed up and work harder without going to trash, not like when I zipped more than 5 glasses of coke per day, I felt like I was going to explode during runs, back then did not feel the difference because that was my way of living everday, now as I am drinking only water I can feel much better during runs and during my day, although I have to admit that sometimes the craving comes and I just endure to avoid those cravings, overall feeling much better.

so 5.5k total in just over 32 mins.

Have a great week!

domingo, 4 de octubre de 2015

Short run to cap the week

Today I headed out in the evening at 5:15 p.m. with my brother to the conservatory, He wanted to run 65 mins, and I wanted to do around 7.5k.

I got to the conservatory in 7:43 or so, and my brother already was behind I just kept building a bigger lap, but He was feeling very bad and tired that He called it a day after the 2nd lap when He had 20 mins, I was surprised because He seldom do that kind of thing, but He did a fartlek last week, that probably fatigued him way more than it should and the heart rate skyrocket even running easy,along with it is the weight issue, He has increased around 15 pounds of fat in the last 6 months or so.

I did 4 laps in the conservatory and stopped there to go home with my brother, so I did not do 7.5k, but at least I could spend time with my brother doing something We both love so much.

The splits were pathetic so does not worth mentioning it, but I finished the run hard and I want to throw something hard tomorrow, maybe in the form of strides or some 1 min intervals, We will see.

5.5k and 6 days of running again this week, I think that this consistency will pay off.

No sodas since Monday and I have been feeling pretty good and smooth during my runs, not that bloated feeling during runs or after lunches, I am feeling much better to be honest.

Have a great end of week!

sábado, 3 de octubre de 2015

Easy morning run

Today I woke up real early to run with my father and to have the afternoon/evening free for today. We went out just past 7 a.m. to the conservatory and I left the watch at home once again and it was a good decision, if on Saturday I would have done that the run  would have been a lot different.

Today I started really tired, but as I was following my body, I was just running easy and running according to how I felt, I never really felt what I would consider good, but much better than last week, simply by following my body´s signals.

We did 5 laps in the conservatory, but We did it in opposite directions, I did it counterclock-wise and He did the laps clock-wise, so We met twice in each lap. After I completed my 5 laps I had to wait 2-3 mins jogging around (not that I was going much faster lol) so that my father could join me and We could left the conservatory to home.

We did the last 1.2k together at a ver slow pace, I wanted to finish with my father and as I was feeling pretty tired, that served me well. Goal for today was to run easy at whatever pace the body would tell it was easy. The weather was not that good today, it was starting to heat up.

All in all 7.5k without watch.

Another reason that I felt so tired and I said it last week is that when I run 12 hours after my last run especially if its a morning run, I feel really tired and sluggish.

Have a great Saturday!

viernes, 2 de octubre de 2015

Great easy run with variations

Today I headed out with my brother  at 6:30 p.m. to the conservatory. I  was running watchless but He was wearing one because He was doing 10 x 1 min fast and 1 min slow workout.

I did with him the first repeat and that felt fast and smooth at the same time, but as soon as I stopped I felt the fatigue and the huffing and puffing started and I needed 1.5 laps to recover, I really wanted to do more repeats with him, but when He started the second repeat and I was still huffing and puffing. But that 1 min interval served me  a lot , because I felt smooth and light the rest of the run to the point that I did 5 x 20 seconds (eyeballed the 20 secs) strides in my last lap and those strides felt great, I had not felt that great in a while.

I did 6 laps there for 7.5k total, I did not wear a watch, but the effort and the speed for the strides were good.

Another reason that I felt so good today it was because it was not too hot, the whole day has been fresh.

With runs like this you really get motivated to run and to train hard.

7.5k untimed.

Have a great Friday!

jueves, 1 de octubre de 2015

Easy watchless run

Today I left the watch at home and just ran what felt easy. I just wanted to do around 45 mins so around 7.5k.

I went out to the conservatory at 6:15 p.m. did 6 laps there very easy and confortable, it felt nice to have a run when you forget about time and just run easy by effort, I think that its truly my easy pace.

Those 6 laps seemed like 10 because the monotony of the run running in circle for 1k, that is getting old and when I ramp up my training which will be very soon, I ll have to run in the mirador where 7.5k there feels like a breeze.

7.5k total without watch.

Checking the  5k race entry fee, and all the information, realized that it was cancelled because it did not appear anymore in the calendar, no biggies as I find another 5k on October 11th (next Sunday) which I ll run, that gives me more time to have better runs and increase my mental confidence at least eventhough the fitness in a week does not change at all.

Have a great night everyone!